<< Day 4

Nepal :: Annapurna Sanctuary - Day 5

Day 6 >>

Dovan VillageABC Trail reaching Dovan Village (~2500m) with great views of Fish Tail. Information Table informs trekkers about chicken/pork/buffalo meat restriction

ABC Trail reaching Dovan Village (~2500m) with great views of Fish Tail.  Information Table informs trekkers about chicken/pork/buffalo meat restriction

Sinuwa to Deurali

Trekking Summary

After spending last couple of days traversing drainages hillside terraces,  trail now finally takes direct line towards upper reaches of Modi Khola towards "MBC" - Machhapuchhre Base Camp.  Day started with half an hour climb to upper Sinuwa, followed by pleasant forested traverse where monkeys could be seen towards Khuldigar helipad -- fantastic viewpoint!  Stone staircase then descends several 100s of meters towards Dovan; it was painful to even think I'd have to climb this on the way back.  But past Dovan up and down ordeal is finally behind and trail now starts steady ascent passing through several small villages along the way. It was interesting to note meat restriction, posted on trekkers information table -- this is where "Annapurna Sanctuary" name comes from, and upper valley is considered holy place by long time Buddhist residents of Modi Khola valley.  Only sheep and goat meet is allowed past Dovan, and past Himalaya there was also interesting Pujiman Barah temple with bells and prayer flags.  Trail became muddy with first snow patches that became progressively larger the higher I climbed.  I was worried a bit about conditions higher up, but several trekkers coming back assured me trail was completely passable all the way to ABC.

Past Himalaya village trail finally climbs out in the open.  Valley is quite confined at this point and thundering waterfalls draining Machhapuchhre Snowfields are quite a show.  I hike a lot in Canada, but this was different;  very wild and almost primordial.  Trailside walls now rear up steeply, and could present avalanche danger during springtime snow melt.  Clouds rolled in by early afternoon totally obscuring the views, so I hurried towards Deurali, final overnight stop between Annapurna Base Camp.   Only 2 lodges, out of 4, were still open as this was off-season, but I had no problems finding a room.  In hindsight this was also the worst lodge on entire trek, including Annapurna Circuit.  Cold, damp, smelly with bad food.  But this temporary inconvenience faded with anticipation of coming day:  tomorrow I was finally going to reach iconic Annapurna Base Camp!

Gallery